Friday, November 30, 2012

Should we try to predict the advent of the Day of Judgment?

1st
Sunday of Advent, Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus
said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the
stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the
seas and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming
upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

Cult leaders often gather a
following through predictions regarding the end of the world. Indeed, this is a
pseudo-science among certain Protestants who look through the newspapers to
find “signs” of the end-times.

These “prophets” are little
more than fortune tellers, since no man can predict the end of time and neither
would such be profitable unto the salvation of souls.

A brief consideration of the
theological tradition regarding the signs of Judgment Day will help us to
realize precisely why Catholics ought not to spend any time or energy on
premonitions about the Second Coming of our Savior.

There
will be signs before the Second Coming

On account of the authority and
the glory of the Judge who is to come, it is necessary that there be some signs
preceding his advent so as to induce people to reverence and subjection before
him. Further, our Savior desires to draw men more by the bonds of love than by
those of punishment, and therefore it is fitting that he prepare men for the
Judgment through certain signs.

Further, although there were
not many signs before the first advent of Jesus as a Child who came to be
judged unto the salvation of all, there will be many signs most manifest before
all peoples when he comes as Judge. Indeed, his first coming was foretold by
the prophets and so there were some who did indeed receive him, though many preferred
darkness to light. However, his second coming will not be hidden but will be
most open – since the Gospel is now open and spread to the whole world through
the missionary work of the Holy Church.

Therefore, it is more necessary
that his second coming be preceded by many great and marvelous signs, as he
will return to judge all people in an open and public manner – this will be the
Last Judgment in which the deeds of all will be revealed to all, and God will be
greatly glorified in his saints.

The
“signs” do not necessarily refer to Judgment Day

Still, while we must affirm
that there will be great and manifest signs which precede the second coming, we
nevertheless maintain that these signs are not necessarily those to which our
Savior alluded in the Gospels.

Jesus speaks of wars and fears,
as well as natural disasters and persecutions – but these have been happening
throughout the whole of human history. Indeed, of these signs which are given
in Scripture, some refer to the first coming of our Lord and to the sack of
Jerusalem, others refer to the daily coming of Jesus into the hearts of
believers through grace and the sacraments, and finally some may well refer to
his return in glory on the Day of Judgment. But it is not easy to discern which
signs refer to the first century, which to the final day, and which to all
times in the era of the Church.

Furthermore, while we may well
admit that there will be an increase in certain sufferings (as wars and
persecutions) which will directly precede the Final Judgment, we must admit
that it is quite uncertain in what degree this increase will foretell the
imminence of the advent. Hence, throughout the history of the Church, there
have been times of greater persecution followed by times of peace – and our
Lord has not yet returned. Therefore, we cannot know whether any particular
increase in signs will be the final warning before the end.

These signs will only be truly
clear in hind-sight.

The
Day will be unknown

The reason that the Day of
Judgment will come in such a surprising manner – as a thief in the night – is that
this Day depends wholly upon the act of God.

Indeed, God is the cause of all
things, but he wills to communicate his causal power to creatures in many
things. Thus, though God is the cause of light, he wills that the sun should
function as a secondary cause which gives us light. And, in these things in
which God wills to work together with creatures, men may discern something of
the future – hence, we may well presume that the sun will rise tomorrow and
that there will be a day following today.

However, there are other things
of which God is the sole cause, and of these man cannot perceive anything of
the future. This applies all the more to the end of the world which will not
come about by any natural cause or even by the participation of any human or
angelic power, but will be the sole result of the will and power of the
Almighty. For, at an unknown day and upon an unknown hour (and hour and day
which he alone will choose), the Master of the house will come.

Private
revelations

While it is true that our Lord
can most certainly reveal certain things about the Day of Judgment, we must
offer a slight word of caution here.

In those apparitions and
locutions which have not been approved by the Church, we must show great
prudence. If it would have been better for us to know the time of the end, our
Lord would have told us – thus, it is rather suspicious if a supposed visionary
purports to predict the future, and especially the day of the second coming.

Even more suspicious are those
who, without any private revelation but relying solely on their own reasoning,
attempt to predict the time of the end. The second coming is wholly beyond any
natural cause, and therefore the observation of supposed “signs” will not allow
the human or even the angelic intellect to predict or foretell Judgment Day.

Why
Jesus did not tell us and does not want us to know

It is better that we do not
know the day and hour of the Second Advent of Jesus, because then we will be
vigilant and will strive all the more to live a virtuous life.

Indeed, if we knew the hour of
our death and the hour of judgment, then we would be tempted to put off
conversion until the last moment – but what chance would we have of reforming
our lives or making a true act of contrition at the last moment, if we had
purposely remained in sin throughout our life? The sin of presumption would be
so strong in us as to be overpowering – and we would not (for the most part)
succeed in converting, but would be lost to our sin and vice. If we put off
converting to the end, we will never convert.

Further, we add that virtue is
its own reward – and we are happier if we live a life in union with God than if
we live a life of sin. However, in the beginning especially, fear of judgment
can be a great help to sever our vice and increase our virtue; and then we move
from fear to love, as we gain more freedom from sin and freedom for God.

Therefore, it is good for us that we watch and
pray. It is good that we know neither the day nor the hour. And Christ our
Savior, who hid this knowledge from us, is very merciful indeed.

4
comments:

Michelangelo
said...

Dear Father,

Thank you for this elegant exposition of why we should not try to predict the moment of the Lord's Second Coming, or even want to know! Along with these frightening Gospels in the past several days, which help me to focus on my own conversion from sins of pride, laziness, etc, I have been reading the sermons of St. John Vianney. Do you have a recommended website where I can read the very best translation of them, as well as the authoritative site in French? I read a bit of French. ALSO, please write commentaries on each of St. John Vianney's sermons, you would do such a great job with them! For example, on the sermon against dancing, he doesn't really distinguish the kinds of dancing or kinds of "dances", such as the difference between a "rave" which would always be morally dangerous to attend, and a square dance which one attends with his grandmother. God bless you Father!